Destroyer Escort

A destroyer escort (DE) is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection against aircraft and smaller attack vessels. The US built roughly 457 destroyer escorts spread out over 8 classes. The Royal Navy deployed destroyer escorts of the Evarts subclass and of the Buckley subclass (with the torpedo tubes removed) and classified them as frigates.

Although destroyer escorts lacked the arms, armor and speed to attack fast armored cruisers and battleships, at the Battle off Samar, the task group Taffy 3 of escort carriers, destroyers and destroyer escorts were attacked by superior Japanese fleet led by the giant battleship Yamato. The Butler-class destroyer escort Samuel B. Roberts became known as "the destroyer escort that fought like a battleship" as it inflicted damage from torpedoes and gunfire on much larger cruisers, and was an instrumental part of a small task force of light ships forcing a far superior enemy fleet to turn back.